Child Welfare System Accountability

1. The assigned county social worker,
2. The county social worker’s supervisor, and
3. All agency employees responsible for the child/youth, including the program manager and director.

Copies of all letters of concern written to the agency should also be sent to the following individuals:

1. The child/youth’s appointed attorney,
2. County counsel assigned to the case,
3. The Court Appointed Special Advocate (“CASA”) if there is one,
4. The Foster Family Agency (“FFA”) social worker, supervisor, and director (if there is an FFA involved), and
5. The California State Ombudsperson for Foster Care
6. CDSS Caregiver Policy and Support Team at this email:  kinship.care@dss.ca.gov

 

Reporting Foster Youth Rights Violations to the Ombudsperson

If your complaint is related to the care, placement, services, or rights of a foster child or youth, you can contact the California State Ombudsperson for Foster Care.  

The California Ombudsperson for Foster Care is the state agency mandated to investigate and attempt to resolve complaints, on behalf of foster children, related to their care, placement or services. The office is empowered to investigate complaints about state and local agencies regarding foster care. The office listens to your concerns, documents your complaints, gathers all relevant information, remains neutral and impartial, and formulates a process for possible resolution.  Please contact the Ombudsperson by calling or filing an online complaint:

Office of the Foster Care Ombudsperson
744 P Street, M.S. 8-13-25
Sacramento, CA 95814
(877) 846-1602
fosteryouthhelp@dss.ca.gov

For more information on how the Office of the Foster Care Ombudsperson can assist you, please visit our website at https://fosteryouthhelp.ca.gov

 

Complaints Regarding County Social Worker Conduct

Concerns about possible inappropriate actions of county employees and requests to change assigned social workers should be addressed to the Director of the specific county's child welfare services agency for resolution. 

If you are making a complaint against a specific county social worker, we suggest that you provide as much detailed information as possible - listing the date, time, location, who was present and any witnesses to the events about which you are complaining. Please be aware that this is a very serious step to take. If no action is taken in response to your complaint, you will have to continue to work with the social worker about whom you complained.

The names of county directors, addresses, and telephone numbers are listed in the County Government section of the local telephone directory or you may also find this information by visiting the County Welfare Directors Association website at www.cwda.org/membership.

 

Complaints About California Judges for Misconduct or Wrongdoing

Complaints about California judges should be made in writing to the Commission on Judicial Performance. You may use the Commission's complaint form or write a letter describing the judge's conduct. (A complaint form can be obtained by calling the phone number for the Commission shown below). Written complaints should include the name of the judge, relevant dates, names of witnesses, and sources of information. Copies (do not send originals) of court documents may be attached to your letter to support the allegations against the judge. Written complaints should be sent to:

State Commission on Judicial Performance
455 Golden Gate Avenue, Suite 14400
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-1220
Website address: www.courts.ca.gov

Please note that the Commission does not have authority to direct a judge to take legal action, or to review a case for judicial error, mistake or other legal grounds. These functions are for the State's appellate courts.

For more information, please visit the California Department of Social Services webpage on Complaints About County Child Welfare Services Agencies.

 

Complaints About Court Appointed Attorneys

"Attorneys or their agents are expected to meet regularly with clients, including clients who are children, regardless of the age of the child or the child's ability to communicate verbally, to contact social workers and other professionals associated with the client's case, to work with other counsel and the court to resolve disputed aspects of a case without contested hearing, and to adhere to the mandated timelines. The attorney for the child must have sufficient contact with the child to establish and maintain an adequate and professional attorney-client relationship. The attorney for the child is not required to assume the responsibilities of a social worker and is not expected to perform services for the child that are unrelated to the child's legal representation."  California Rules of Court, Rule 5.660(d)(4)

Rule 5.660(e) further mandates a complaint procedure for appointed attorneys in which the court must take action.  If you believe that your court-appointed attorney is not representing your interests, you can report problems or lodge complaints to the presiding judge of the juvenile court by using the “Request for Assistance with Court Appointed Attorney” form.  You may find instructions for completing the form here.  If you know your judge's name or department, you can address the letter to that judge and send your letter there.  If you do not know who your judge is, try searching online for the supervising or presiding judge of the juvenile dependency court in the county your case is in.  If you can't find out who that is, address your letter to "Supervising Juvenile Dependency Judge" and send it to the juvenile dependency court in the county that has jurisdiction over the case.

 

For Individuals who are not Parties to the Juvenile Dependency Case

If you are not a party complaining about your court appointed attorney, only certain counties have adopted Local Rules of Court which allow adults who have a relationship with a child in foster care to lodge a complaint on behalf of the child, i.e. the caregiver, social worker, CASA, or relative. See your county Local Rules, under “Representation of Parties: Complaints.”

You can find the contact information for the presiding judge of the juvenile dependency case in this directory of mailing addresses for all juvenile court presiding judges in the State of California.

 

Complaint of Attorney Misconduct with the State Bar of California

Another recourse if you encounter problems with a court appointed attorney is to contact the State Bar of California and file a complaint for any unethical professional conduct.  If you are filing a complaint about a court appointed minor’s attorney, a complaint may be made on behalf of a minor. For more information, please click here.